Agenda of Community Development and Safety Committee

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Responsibilities and key projects

The Committee is responsible for regional community development and safety by:

· Developing (and monitoring) strategy, policy and action plans, including any agreed community consultation, to recommend to the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee, as set out in the Schedule of Key Projects for Reporting Committees, attached to these Terms of Reference*

· Acting as a community interface for consultation on policies and as a forum for raising community concerns, while ensuring community engagement is complementary to that undertaken by local boards

Powers

All powers necessary to perform the Committee’s responsibilities

Except:

(a) powers that the Governing Body cannot delegate or has retained to itself (section 2)

(b) where the Committee’s responsibility is limited to making a recommendation only

(d) the approval of expenditure that is not contained within approved budgets

(e) the approval of expenditure of more than $2 million

(f) the approval of final policy

(g) deciding significant matters for which there is high public interest and which are controversial

(h) the commissioning of reports on new policy where that policy programme of work has not been approved by the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee

(i) the power to establish sub-committees

*Schedule of key projects for the Community Development and Safety Committee

Alcohol harm reduction strategy

Plan for homelessness

Community safety programmes

Exclusion of the public – who needs to leave the meeting

Members of the public

All members of the public must leave the meeting when the public are excluded unless a resolution is passed permitting a person to remain because their knowledge will assist the meeting.

Those who are not members of the public

General principles

· Access to confidential information is managed on a “need to know” basis where access to the information is required in order for a person to perform their role.

· Those who are not members of the meeting (see list below) must leave unless it is necessary for them to remain and hear the debate in order to perform their role.

· Those who need to be present for one confidential item can remain only for that item and must leave the room for any other confidential items.

· In any case of doubt, the ruling of the chairperson is final.

Members of the meeting

· The members of the meeting remain (all Governing Body members if the meeting is a Governing Body meeting; all members of the committee if the meeting is a committee meeting).

· However, standing orders require that a councillor who has a pecuniary conflict of interest leave the room.

· All councillors have the right to attend any meeting of a committee and councillors who are not members of a committee may remain, subject to any limitations in standing orders.

Independent Māori Statutory Board

· Members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board who are appointed members of the committee remain.

· Independent Māori Statutory Board members and staff remain if this is necessary in order for them to perform their role.

Staff

· All staff supporting the meeting (administrative, senior management) remain.

· Other staff who need to because of their role may remain.

Local Board members

· Local Board members who need to hear the matter being discussed in order to perform their role may remain. This will usually be if the matter affects, or is relevant to, a particular Local Board area.

Council Controlled Organisations

· Representatives of a Council Controlled Organisation can remain only if required to for discussion of a matter relevant to the Council Controlled Organisation.

1 Apologies

At the close of the agenda an apology from Deputy Mayor PA Hulse had been received.

2 Declaration of Interest

Members are reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other external interest they might have.

3 Confirmation of Minutes

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Tuesday, 5 May 2015, as a true and correct record.

4 Petitions

At the close of the agenda no requests to present petitions had been received.

5 Public Input

Standing Order 7.7 provides for Public Input. Applications to speak must be made to the Democracy Advisor, in writing, no later than one (1) clear working day prior to the meeting and must include the subject matter. The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders. A maximum of thirty (30) minutes is allocated to the period for public input with five (5) minutes speaking time for each speaker.

5.1 Chinese New Settlers Services Trust

Purpose

1. To provide Jenny Wang, Chief Executive of the Chinese New Settlers Services Charitable Trust, an opportunity to address the Community Development and Safety Committee.

Executive summary

2. Jenny Wang, Chief Executive of Chinese New Settlers Services Trust (CNSST), will introduce the services provided to the Chinese migrant community. In particular, Ms Wang will present the senior social housing initiative to the Community Development and Safety Committee.

3. CNSST offers culturally and linguistically appropriate services to Asian new settlers and the community in New Zealand. The objectives of the CNSST are to establish Asian community multi-service centres, and to help all Asian new settlers to integrate and contribute to New Zealand society through their services delivery.

4. CNSST is building affordable social housing (36 units) for Asian seniors in the Panmure business centre, which will be available for occupation from 2016. The affordable social housing project is in partnership with central government. CNSST social services team will provide culturally and linguistically appropriate wrap-around services to support the wellbeing of all its elderly residents.

5. CNSST Education Institute (CNSSTEI) provides tertiary education to international and domestic students. CNSSTEI provides NZQA accredited English, Computer, Chinese, English for Migrants and Social Work courses.

Recommendations

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the presentation from Jenny Wang, Chief Executive of the Chinese New Settlers Services Charitable Trust.

b) thank Jenny Wang and the Chinese New Settlers Services Charitable Trust for hosting the committee.

5.2 Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust

Purpose

1. To provide Dr. Mary Dawson, Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust, an opportunity to address the Community Development and Safety Committee.

Executive summary

2. Dr. Mary Dawson, Chief Executive of Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust (ARMS), will introduce the programmes and services of ARMS to the Community Development and Safety Committee.

3. ARMS is Auckland’s specialist settlement support agency, providing targeted programmes for skilled migrants, international students, work visa holders, former refugees and their families. ARMS programmes and services are delivered in several locations across Auckland.

4. Since 2003, ARMS’ staff, volunteers and community partners have provided specialist settlement, orientation, training and employment services for over 30,000 clients.

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust presentation and thank Dr. Mary Dawson for her presentation.

5.3 Auckland Refugee Community Coalition

Purpose

1. To provide Abann Yor, Chairperson of the Auckland Refugee Community Coalition, an opportunity to address the Community Development and Safety Committee.

Executive summary

2. Abann Yor, Chairperson of the Auckland Refugee Community Coalition (ARCC), will introduce the roles and initiatives of ARCC to the Community Development and Safety Committee.

3. ARCC was established in 2006 as part of a national initiative, Strengthening Refugee Voices. ARCC is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation with more than 20 affiliated refugee organisations.

4. ARCC has the cultural understanding, knowledge and expertise to support and advocate for the former refugee community. ARCC works in collaboration with community groups and government organisations to achieve the full participation of former refugees in local communities. ARCC supports refugee community organisations by providing capacity building and training on the New Zealand system and integration.

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the Auckland Refugee Community Coalition presentation and thank Abann Yor for his presentation.

5.4 Rebecca Williams - Action on Alcohol Plan

Purpose

1. To provide Rebecca Williams, Executive Planning Group, an opportunity to address the Community Development and Safety Committee on Auckland’s Action on Alcohol Plan.

Executive summary

2. Rebecca Williams will present Auckland’s Action on Alcohol Plan developed by the Executive Planning Group.

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the presentation on Auckland’s Action on Alcohol Plan and thank Rebecca Williams for her attendance.

6 Local Board Input

Standing Order 6.2 provides for Local Board Input. The Chairperson (or nominee of that Chairperson) is entitled to speak for up to five (5) minutes during this time. The Chairperson of the Local Board (or nominee of that Chairperson) shall wherever practical, give one (1) days notice of their wish to speak. The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.

This right is in addition to the right under Standing Order 6.1 to speak to matters on the agenda.

At the close of the agenda no requests for local board input had been received.

7 Extraordinary Business

Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“An item that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-

(a) The local authority by resolution so decides; and

(b) The presiding member explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-

(i) The reason why the item is not on the agenda; and

(ii) The reason why the discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”

Section 46A(7A) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“Where an item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-

(a) That item may be discussed at that meeting if-

(i) That item is a minor matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and

(ii) the presiding member explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but

(b) no resolution, decision or recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”

8 Notices of Motion

At the close of the agenda no requests for notices of motion had been received.

Community Development and Safety Committee

05 August 2015

Migrants and Refugees

File No.: CP2015/14893

Purpose

1. To provide an overview of Auckland Council’s strategic plans and activity for migrants and refugees.

Executive Summary

2. Ethnic and Pacific peoples make up 39.6 per cent of Auckland’s population. The Auckland Plan reflects the changing face and emerging cultural needs of Auckland.

3. Understanding race relations is an integral part of Auckland’s current and future role as a super-diverse city. Auckland Council supports the initiatives of the Human Rights Commission for race relations, and will fund the Diversity Forum which will be held on 9 September 2015.

4. The former refugee community is becoming an important part of our local neighbourhoods. Auckland Council hosted World Refugee Day on 20 June 2015 to celebrate and recognise refugees' settlement and neighborhood engagement.

5. Auckland is a popular destination for international students to study and settle following completion of their study. The Auckland Council family provides activities for international students.

6. Auckland Council delivers a range of initiatives for migrants and refugees in collaboration with central government and service providers. These include: the ‘Pasifika Newcomers Action Group’ and ‘Welcome to Auckland’ workshops.

7. Auckland Council has been collaborating with the New Zealand Police, to support migrant and Pacific communities’ participation in safety patrols and community safety groups.

8. On 4 June, 2015, Governing Body adopted the Empowered Communities Approach which will encourage further participation of migrants and refugees in their local community.

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the Migrants and Refugees report.

Comments

Migrant population

9. Auckland is the most culturally diverse city in New Zealand. Ethnic and Pacific peoples make up 39.6 per cent of the total Auckland population with 28 per cent of Aucklanders speaking more than one language.

10. Auckland is home to the vast majority of the world’s Niuean, Tokelauan and Cook Islands peoples. The Census data in 2013 indicates a slight increase in Pacific population since the last census in 2006 as shown in below the graph.

11.
In 2013, more than 23 per cent of Aucklanders identified as Asian. By 2021 almost one in three people in the city will be of Asian descent. Many Pacific people reside in the West and South of Auckland, while the Asian population is growing across Auckland.

(Source: Research, Investigation and Monitoring Unit)

Residential areas for Pacific (2013) Residential areas for Asians (2013)

(Source: Research, Investigation and Monitoring Unit)

12. Auckland’s high proportion of migrants contributes to a labour market that is both ethnically and culturally diverse. This creates opportunities as well as challenges and reaffirms the need for the long term social integration of migrants. The Auckland Plan and the Thriving Communities Action Plan reflect the emerging needs of migrants and refugees for long term social integration.

Auckland Council strategies

13. The Auckland Plan values the diversity of Auckland’s population by harnessing the opportunities for cultural enrichment and economic development arising from migration, which will be crucial to New Zealand’s long-term prospects. The Auckland Plan aspires to strengthen collaboration and adaptation for host families, and migrants and refugees. Some of the ongoing or planned actions for engaging with diverse communities in the Auckland Plan include:

· addressing structural discrimination and ensuring governance and decision-making processes to enable all communities to have a voice in shaping their communities and Auckland, through advocating and supporting the initiatives of the Human Rights Commission

· consolidating and strengthening support to refugees and migrants, and to develop other multi-agency initiatives to support migrants in Auckland, particularly those most in need through the Auckland Regional Settlement strategy

· supporting community, ethnic and cultural group efforts to develop and promote facilities, activities and events in local communities, for local communities; e.g. the Chinese New Year Festival and the Diwali Festival.

14. Thriving Communities is a strategic action plan outlining Auckland Council’s commitments to becoming an agile, responsive and flexible partner to communities. The Action Plan is based on the three directives from the Auckland Plan, one of which is to ‘promote inclusion, reduce discrimination and remove barriers to opportunity and participation, particularly for disadvantaged groups.’ The action plan includes seven principles and six priorities, addressing the importance of civic participation and inclusion, diversity and equity. Auckland Council works together with multi-sector agencies and implements programmes for migrants and refugees in line with the Auckland Plan and Thriving Communities.

Human Rights Commission

15. Auckland has been described as a ‘super-diverse’ city by Professor Paul Spoonley of Massey University. Super-diversity refers to cities where more than 25% of the resident population are comprised of ethnic migrants. Auckland is in the top three cities in the world for super-diversity.

16. Understanding race relations is an integral part of Auckland’s current and future role as a super-diverse city. Auckland Council collaborates with, and supports the Human Rights Commission and its initiatives to enable all communities to have a voice, as addressed in the Auckland Plan.

17. The Human Rights Commission organises the Diversity Forum in Auckland this year to recognise and discuss key race relations issues. Auckland Council contributed $10,000 to the event. The Diversity Forum is held at the Auckland University of Technology City Campus on 9 September 2015.

The Refugee Quota Programme and the Refugee Sector

18. Auckland Council hosted the World Refugee Day event at Western Springs Community Garden Hall on 15 June 2015. Immigration New Zealand organised the event, and more than 80 people joined to celebrate and recognise the pathways of the refugee community in Auckland.

19. Immigration New Zealand is a leading agency implementing the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy. Auckland Council is a member of the external reference group member for the Resettlement Strategy. The strategy supports the social and economic integration of refugees to build a strong sense of belonging to their own community and to New Zealand.

20. Auckland Council partnered with the Auckland Refugee Community Coalition and several agencies to organise the first Refugee sector - Auckland Regional Summit in November 2014. The multi-agency approach to the refugee sector is aligned with the Auckland Plan, consolidating and strengthening support refugees and migrants. The recommendations of the summit included:

· more structured support services for new settlers from refugee backgrounds after six months of their settlement in community,

· streamlined approaches to support refugees employment pathways

International students in Auckland

21. Auckland has 56,253 international students as of 2013, which accounts for 62 per cent of New Zealand’s total international students, generating $1.5 billion of revenue in 2012. Students come to Auckland from China (31%), India (14%), South Korea (11%) and Japan (10%).^{^[1]}

22. Auckland Council has provided a series of forums and programmes specifically for international students as part of the Auckland Regional Settlement Strategy. Auckland Council also partnered with Auckland University and Auckland Chamber of Commerce for the Employment Conference. More than 200 students attended the Conference on 15 April, 2015.

23. Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) hosted the International Student Welcome event in March 2015. More than 2400 international students registered to attend the event. A number of students expressed their interest in participating in more social and cultural activities in Auckland. As a follow-up process, ATEED launched the international student experience programme, INAKL, to raise awareness of the opportunities for international students in Auckland.

24. The programmes for international students support the Auckland Plan and Thriving Communities by removing barriers to opportunity and encouraging participation.

Pasifika Newcomers Action Group

25. The Pasifika Newcomers Action Group (PNAG) was established and coordinated by the Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS) with a particular focus on developing strategies and initiatives to assist Pacific newcomers to settle more seamlessly into New Zealand.

26. Auckland Council is one of 12 agencies represented on this group. PNAG is planning to coordinate five or six Pasifika Newcomer workshops to be delivered by ARMS in South Auckland. The workshop topics will include housing, health services, contracts, education, safety and the New Zealand welfare system and will provide useful messages and key information around settlement processes.

27. This multi-sector collaboration approach serves the Auckland Plan, by developing and promoting activities in local communities, for local communities.

28. South Auckland was identified as a priority area due to the increasing number of Pacific newcomers in this area. Similar workshops will be planned across the rest of the region if the workshops prove to be successful.

Auckland Council’s initiatives for diverse communities

29. Auckland Council, ATEED, and Immigration New Zealand are working together under the Auckland Regional Partnership Agreement to attract and retain migrants. The agreement will identify how to leverage tools and resources that Immigration New Zealand can provide to support the Auckland Council family’s key areas of priority for migrant attraction and settlement.

30. ‘Welcome to Auckland’ is a one day programme for new migrants including Pacific and ethnic communities. Auckland Council has been working together with Raeburn House for the design and implementation of the programme. The purpose of programme is to provide information on Auckland Council, local networks, and to create conversations between newcomers to talk about the challenges and issues they are facing. Six workshops were held in North Shore and Waitakere. The dates for the workshops were as follows:

Location	Date
Northcote	13 November 2014
Greenhithe	20 November 2014
Albany	28 November 2014
Glenfield	5 March 2015
Browns Bay	23 April 2015
New Lynn	19 June 2015

31. The Mayor’s Office holds regular media briefings for migrant, Pacific and ethnic media. The Mayor’s Migrant Media Briefing initiative started in early 2014, to encourage greater engagement between the Mayor, the Auckland Council family and the media serving migrant communities. The first briefing in 2015 was about the decisions facing Aucklanders in the 10-year budget and the call for public feedback.

32. As part of the Multicultural Storytime project, Auckland libraries deliver Mandarin Storytime sessions attracting up to 100 people at a time. In response to Auckland’s increasing multi-ethnic and linguistic diversity and growing customer demand for storytimes, a project group has been formed to develop additional resources and training programmes to equip staff to be able to implement more multicultural storytimes across the region’s 55 libraries. Recent examples of new offerings for customers include storytimes in Tamil and Russian languages.

33. The Kaipātiki Migrant and Business Support initiative is a pilot programme to support ethnic and migrant-owned businesses in the Kaipātiki area. The Kaipātiki Local Board and Auckland Council will appoint an intermediary to build relationships and provide support for existing migrant businesses.

34. New Kiwi Women Write Their Stories was initiated in 2012. The programme was delivered by a poet, Renee Liang, across four local board areas including Puketapapa, Albert-Eden, Upper Harbour and Kaipatiki. The programme consists of a series of weekend workshops, followed by a publication of participants’ poems and stories. In excess of 150 women from many nationalities have attended the programme. Feedback on the programme has been positive, with many participants describing New Kiwi Women as making a substantial personal impact on their lives.

35. These initiatives reflect the Auckland Plan by promoting inclusion, reducing discrimination and removing barriers to opportunity and participation for migrants and refugees.

Community safety groups

36. Many Pacific and Asian community safety groups have been established to patrol and support our neighbourhoods and town centres. Each group has its own operational model, and is independent of each other. The safety groups have also provided patrolling support for events including the Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup and the NRL Auckland Nines.

37. Auckland Council supports these groups by providing information on governance and Auckland Council’s roles. The following tables show the current number of active Pacific, Asian and other ethnic volunteer safety groups:

Pacific groups	Number of participants	Ethnic groups	Number of participants
Tamaki Pacific Wardens	32	Ethnic Wardens (West)	10
Mangere/Papatoetoe Wardens	50	Auckland Safety Patrol (Central)	170
Manurewa Pacific Wardens	40	Community Safety Ambassadors (Central)	81
North Shore Pacific Wardens	10	Asian Council on Reducing Crime (South)	50
Otahuhu Wardens (Tongans)	20
Otara Pacific Wardens	30
Waitakere Pacific Wardens Trust	50
Pacific Wardens Glen Eden	50

Consideration

Local Board Views

38. Auckland Council’s programmes for migrants and refugees are closely aligned with local board priorities. Local boards recognise their role in enabling migrants and refugee communities in their local board plans.

Māori Impact Statement

39. Tangata whenua value and welcome migrants and refugees in Auckland. Auckland Council continues to engage and collaborate with community groups and organisations to provide opportunities for migrants to enhance their understanding of Te Ao Māori, and gain an appreciation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

40. Migrants and refuges recognise and respect Māori as tangata whenua. Marae visits demonstrate manaakitanga and offer an opportunity to experience the value of whanaungatanga.

Implementation Issues

41. There are no implementation issues to address.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Author	Austin Kim – Strategic Advisor - Diversity
Authoriser	Graham Bodman – General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture

Community Development and Safety Committee

05 August 2015

Update on Homelessness and Emergency Housing

File No.: CP2015/15079

Purpose

1. To update the Community Development and Safety Committee on council activity to address homelessness in Auckland and on work across council on emergency housing.

Executive Summary

2. The Auckland Plan prioritises housing for all Aucklanders (Strategic Direction 11: ‘To house all Aucklanders in secure, healthy homes they can afford’).

3. In October 2012, the Social and Community Development Forum endorsed the Regional Homelessness Action Plan (RHAP), which was developed with key organisations to address homelessness across Auckland. In 2013 the committee was briefed on RHAP’s four key strands of work:

· leadership and public awareness

· an interagency response to end rough sleeping by 2020

· a coordinated approach for vulnerable tenants living in temporary accommodation

· empowering vulnerable groups.

4. Current RHAP homelessness and rough-sleeping initiatives include:

· Assessing the need for additional outreach services

· Funding the Auckland City Mission $10,000 to develop best practice guidelines and provide training for other organisations to develop outreach services

· Pulling together cross-sector organisations in west Auckland to map services that support those in housing need, and develop connections

· Coordinated response to antisocial behaviour

· Developing a funding case for a court co-ordinator for the New Beginnings Court (a solutions focused court that seeks to address the underlying causes of low level offending by homeless people in the central city)

· Service development work: developing initiatives to address homelessness in response to the Insights Report published in January 2015

· Piloting proactive inspections of boarding houses in South Auckland

· building on existing Māori-focussed programmes, such as Kahikatea Tu te Uru, to develop approaches to homeless that are in line with council’s Māori responsiveness framework

· provision of small seed funding for initiatives developed by the rough sleeping community

– developing social enterprises (e.g. Radio NFA, Hemi’s Homies, Awhina mai tatou)

– alternatives to begging

– creating opportunities for capacity building and skills development.

5. Council has also developed initiatives in response to a number of issues surrounding aggressive begging, people creating obstructions and generally causing a nuisance. Work has been cross-departmental and inter-agency, involving a combination of bylaw enforcement and education to encourage voluntary compliance.

6. A Homelessness Fund was approved through the 2015-25 Long Term Plan which will provide a total of $110,000 per year for three years for expanded support to address homelessness and rough sleeping.

7. The mayor’s office is currently leading work on addressing the shortage of emergency housing from several perspectives including:

· working with emergency housing providers to identify ways they can increase provision of emergency housing, and helping them develop a strong collaborative network in Auckland

· investigating council making surplus serviced land available to emergency housing providers to lease on a cost neutral basis to council

· working with central government to review funding policies for emergency housing

· development of an emergency housing fund through the 2015-25 Long Term Plan of $250,000 per annum for two years.

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the Update on Homelessness and Emergency Housing report.

Comments

8. Council’s work on homelessness draws its mandate from the Auckland Plan:

· Strategic direction 1. create a strong, inclusive and equitable society that ensures opportunities for all Aucklanders

– Improve the education, health and safety of Aucklanders, with a focus on those most in need

· Strategic direction 11. House all Aucklanders in secure, healthy homes that they can afford

– To end rough sleeping (primary homelessness) in Auckland by 2020

9. In response to this mandate, the council has developed the Regional Homelessness Action Plan, to address the wider issue of homelessness including; shared/overcrowded accommodation, temporary accommodation (i.e. boarding houses), uninhabitable dwellings and people living without shelter.

10. Council staff also informed the Auckland Homelessness Steering Group Strategic Plan; a multi-agency plan to end rough sleeping by 2022 in central Auckland. Council’s focus on homelessness now incorporates specific work on increasing emergency housing.

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

11. A 19 October 2014 street count led by the Auckland City Mission counted 147 people sleeping rough within a three kilometer radius of the Sky Tower. This is a 116 per cent increase over 18 months (although it is important to note that this data should be treated with caution as it is from one night only).

12. The Regional Homelessness Action Plan (RHAP) has had some successes with regard to better understanding the factors which lead people to become homeless or to sleep rough, and has had positive interventions to help people to gain skills and connect with available services.

13. RHAP Key achievements in the last year and work in progress includes:

· research into the scale of homelessness across the region and current service provision for homelessness

· an insight report into rough sleeping in central Auckland

· a social innovation approach to rough sleeping is in progress, initiated by a workshop in August 2013, co-hosted by the council and Lifewise and facilitated by Thinkplace. This introduced a design led approach to understand journeys into and out of rough sleeping to identify common trigger points

· Kahikatea Tū Te Uru – a cultural connectedness project, co-designed by people with lived experience of homelessness

· development of a cross sector ‘guide to homelessness and housing in West Auckland forum

· continuation of the successful New Beginnings Court.

Assessing the need for additional outreach services

14. Council currently funds the Auckland City Mission $25,000 per annum to provide outreach services across Auckland at 20 hours per week. There is a growing need for these services in central, west and south Auckland.

15. The service proactively works with homeless / rough sleepers in the CBD to ensure they are safe and access social services. It also reacts to and resolves complaints received from the public and other agencies about rough sleepers in public spaces.

Funding the Auckland City Mission $10,000 to develop best practice guidelines and training

16. Due to the growing number of people sleeping rough in West and South Auckland, there is a need for capacity building among social service agencies to respond to the needs of people sleeping rough. The Auckland City Mission has been allocated $10,000 in funding to develop best practice guidelines and provide training for other organisations across the region. The training will include: the realities of homelessness; outreach services, case management, case coordination and collective impact approaches.

17. The New Beginnings Court is a solutions focused court that seeks to address the underlying causes of low level offending by homeless people in the central city. Long term sustainable funding is still being sought for the crucial court coordinator position. In the meantime, council continues to contribute $10,000 per annum, alongside seven central government agencies.

Service development work

18. Initiatives are being developed to address homelessness in response to the Insights Report published in January 2015. The report was designed to highlight the insights generated by the research and to walk the reader through the rough sleeping experience. It is hoped that this will act as a catalyst for inclusive and collaborative conversations to produce practical outcomes that are meaningful for those who sleep rough in central Auckland.

19. A service design approach has been adopted, which requires ideas generation with stakeholders and the rough sleeping community and initial prototype development. This is followed by implementing a range of prototypes and testing whether they work, changing as required, before embedding the final prototypes.

20. The four priority areas are:

· increasing safety, dignity and wellbeing for people living on the streets (i.e. access to public amenities);

· removing barriers to services (i.e. working with the Department of Internal Affairs on digital identification)

· create better support for people who have moved indoors and develop home-making

· broaden the number of accommodation options

21. This process has sparked a range of innovation workshops including the Auckland Central Library response and an identity workshop with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Auckland Central Library response to the Insights Report

22. In direct response to the Insights into Rough Sleeping report, the Auckland Central Library held a community hui on 24 April 2014, for people experiencing homelessness to come together to explore how the library might better respond to the needs of those sleeping rough. The hui was extremely well attended with approximately 40 people from the homeless community as well as staff from libraries, Auckland City Mission and the council. By the end of the hui there were four work streams. These included:

· Reducing discrimination faced by rough sleepers through empathy training

· Development of a digital community noticeboard

· Better communicating the library membership process and systems for rough sleepers

· Exploring options for a community hub

23. A follow up hui was held on Friday 17 May to feedback on the various progress.

Awhina Mai Tatou – an empowered community response

24. Attendees that volunteered for the community hub work stream have met regularly since April and have named themselves Awhina Mai Tatou. Awhina Mai Tatou consists of members of the homeless community, including support from members of Radio NFA, Auckland City Mission, Lifewise, Urban Vineyard Church and Auckland Council.

25. On Friday 24 July, Awhina Mai Tatou held their first community event at the Lifewise Merge café. The theme for the event was ‘notions of home or kainga’ and included carving, and harakeke workshops, a grand designs competition and a guest speaker who discussed the living building project of Ngai Tuhoe, Kura Whare. This event was designed, developed and delivered by people with experience of homelessness and was attended by approximately 40 members of the homeless community.

26. A ideas generation and prototyping workshop was co-facilitated with the Department of Internal Affairs and Auckland Council. The workshop explored the identity issue from the perspective of a person sleeping rough and developed four key ideas to take through to the prototyping stage. These are currently in development.

Māori responsiveness: building on existing Māori-focussed programmes

27. In recognition of the over representation of Māori in the homelessness community, Te Puni Kokiri led a multi-agency and multi-iwi Matariki Wananga to address the social and cultural needs of Māori. The purpose of the event was to :

· Provide a sense of cultural pride and rejuvenation through the celebration of Matariki

· Promote social growth and development to Māori people experiencing homelessness through support and community initiatives

· Encourage other organisations (iwi-led) and others to continue to provide cultural support to the community.

Small seed funding for initiatives developed by the rough sleeping community

28. There are several developing social enterprises including Radio NFA and Hemi’s Homies which create alternatives to begging and provide opportunities for capacity building and skills development.

29. Radio NFA is a group of likeminded individuals who have experienced or are currently sleeping rough, with the goal to change people’s perception of homelessness through the medium of radio. Radio NFA stands for ‘Radio no fixed abode’ and has the aim of raising peoples’ awareness that homeless doesn’t mean hopeless.

Coordinated response to anti-social behavior

30. The Regional Homelessness Action Plan also provides a coordinated response to anti-social behavior. This involves a multi-agency response that seeks to address the underlying cause of the behavior and where necessary employs a graduated enforcement approach.

31. The council has recently prosecuted for bylaw breaches in relation to glue sniffing and windscreen washing in the central city. These prosecutions were handled by the New Beginning’s Court which seeks to address the underlying causes of homelessness. Licensing and Compliance Services will continue to utilise this court for any future begging prosecutions in the central area and work with the Ministry of Justice to take a similar approach in other parts of the Auckland region.

Other possible new initiatives

32. There are a range of new initiatives underway, which include but are not limited to:

· training and building capacity in other NGOs to respond to homelessness / rough sleeper issues in other parts of Auckland

· designing innovative services and getting them to pilot rollout phase

· addressing Māori responsiveness issues and increasing access to Māori specific services and programmes.

Emergency Housing

33. Emergency housing is short term accommodation for up to 12 weeks and supported by wraparound services. There is a critical shortage of emergency housing. In recent months, two inner city boarding houses closed (50 beds).

34. As of 31 March 2015, there were 2500 priority applications on the Ministry of Social Development’s social housing waitlist. The last available data (2006) identifies approximately 15,000 Aucklanders as being in severe housing deprivation.

35. Across Auckland there are approximately 300 emergency housing spaces. At a meeting of emergency housing providers in March, all providers stated they had no current vacancies.

36. A number of emergency housing providers have proposals in various stages of development for additional emergency accommodation spaces but various costs are a common barrier to delivering these. The Long Term Plan provides $250,000 per annum for the next two years to assist emergency housing providers to develop new places by off-setting regulatory costs or aiding in planning / professional fees associated with new spaces, and assisting in start-up costs for particularly innovative proposals. This funding is not for ongoing operational support. Details on how the fund will operate (including funding rounds) are being worked through by staff.

37. The mayor’s office is currently leading work on addressing the shortage of emergency housing from several perspectives, including:

· working with emergency housing providers to identify ways they can increase provision of emergency housing, and helping them develop a strong collaborative network in Auckland

· investigating making surplus serviced land available to emergency housing providers to lease on a cost neutral basis to council

· working with central government and providers to review funding policies for emergency housing.

38. The central government review of funding for emergency housing will report results in the next couple of months.

39. The main issues around emergency housing in Auckland are:

· access to housing

· accessing services

· tenancy support

· safety, wellbeing and dignity

40. There are several initiatives in the emergency housing area which are underway. These include:

· increasing housing options

· quickly engaging with new rough sleepers

· removing barriers to services

· increasing opportunities and engagement

· developing a kaupapa Māori response

· increasing safety, dignity and wellbeing

· breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions

· co-designing solutions with the community; including government, non-government agencies and those experiencing homelessness.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

41. The Community Development and Safety Project Leader provided a brief presentation to the community development portfolio holders of the Waitematā Local Board in March 2015. Monthly updates are also provided to the portfolio holders as required.

Māori impact statement

42. 60-70% of the rough sleeping population in Central Auckland is of Māori descent. A specific response for this group is being developed to include access to specific Māori services and programs. This includes the already co-designed and co-delivered kaupapa Māori program (called Kahikatea Tu te Uru) that provides an opportunity for people sleeping rough to develop hikoi /walks across Auckland that bring life to the stories of the whenua/land as well as the recent Matariki event led by Te Puni Kokiri.

Implementation

43. Staff will work to implement the new funding available for Emergency Housing and Homelessness initiatives and criteria will be developed by a collective group of staff working in this area across council.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Author	Graham Bodman - General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture
Authoriser	Graham Bodman - General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture

Community Development and Safety Committee

05 August 2015

Community Safety Update

File No.: CP2015/14957

Purpose

1. To provide the Community Development and Safety Committee with an update on Community Safety activity.

Executive Summary

2. Community Development, Arts and Culture (CDAC) delivers community safety activities to prevent injuries, crime, family violence, and graffiti vandalism as well as initiatives to support youth to make safe choices regarding drug use.

3. This update outlines recent Community Safety activity, including the Safer Driveways project in Manukau, injury prevention activity, CAYAD initiatives and graffiti prevention activities.

4. Future delivery of community safety activity is currently under review as part of the Empowered Communities Approach (Resolution number REG/2015/41).

Recommendation

That the Community Development and Safety Committee:

a) receive the Community Safety Update report.

Comments

5. Community Development, Arts and Culture (CDAC) delivers community safety activities in the following areas:

· graffiti vandalism prevention

· injury prevention

· crime prevention through environmental design

· family violence prevention

· community action on youth and drugs (CAYAD).

6. Future delivery of community safety activity is currently under review as part of the Empowered Communities Approach (Resolution number REG/2015/41) being piloted in CDAC’s Community Development and Safety (CDS) unit. The review will take effect from 1 October.

7. This update outlines recent Community Safety activity, including:

· Safer Driveways project

· Injury Prevention

· Community Action Youth and Drugs

· Graffiti Vandalism Prevention

Safer Driveways Project

8. In June 2015, staff undertook the Safer Driveways project to gain an understanding of the complex issues surrounding driveway run-overs and the barriers to creating safer driveways in the Counties Manukau area.

9. The project was a collaboration between Auckland Transport’s Community Transport Team and Auckland Council’s Injury Prevention team. Project partners included:

· New Zealand Police

· Safekids Aotearoa

· Starship Hospital

· Office of the Chief Coroner

· Royal New Zealand Plunket Society

· Auckland Council’s Te Waka Angamua

· Auckland Design Office

· St John Paramedics.

10. The project highlighted the need for more sector cohesion and leadership, more realistic and considered educational messages and better planning and design of shared driveways.

11. Staff will present the project report to the Road Safety Group including NZ Police and Auckland Transport. A copy has also been sent to the Ministry of Health.

12. Building on this research, staff will support Safekids Aotearoa to deliver their Low Speed Driveway Safety campaign in September 2015 by contributing funding towards educational materials, resource distribution and project management.

Sector action plan on child injury prevention

13. To enable a more coordinated approach to child injury prevention across the region, staff have facilitated the development of a draft shared sector action plan, Auckland Children Living Injury Free. This work aligns with the Auckland Plan target to reduce child hospitalisations due to injuries by 20 per cent by 2025.

14. To date, this process has been informed by:

· a background paper on child injury indicator data prepared by Dr Pauline Gulliver from the University of Auckland

· a workshop in March 2015 which brought together over 50 stakeholders to co-design the shared action plan. Staff co-hosted the workshop with the Guiding Coalition on Injury Prevention. Councillor Cathy Casey opened the workshop.

15. The next step for the action plan is to seek sector endorsement of the plan and map partner services and programmes at a forum scheduled for September 2015.

16. The plan is intended as a living document against which the collective effectiveness of the sector can be measured, allowing more efficient reporting and providing the ability to showcase the work of the injury prevention sector as a whole.

CAYAD contract renewed

17. The CAYAD programme aims to reduce alcohol and drug related harm in young people. CAYAD engages communities in addressing the conditions and environments that make young people more likely to harmfully use alcohol and other drugs. This includes:

· addressing local policies and practices

· supporting community action to reduce supply of alcohol and other drugs

· facilitating community changes that expand positive opportunities for young people.

18. The Ministry of Health CAYAD contract has been signed with Auckland Council for a further three years, with a slight shift in emphasis to results based accountability.

19. Recent and current projects include:

· the West Auckland Youth Alcohol and other Drugs Community Needs Assessment research project

· the Community Action Hour project in libraries

· the tertiary environments project

· improving and updating the action plan for the Auckland Regional Methamphetamine Working Group

· working with key stakeholders to scope a project on a health approach to drug policy.

Graffiti vandalism prevention

20. Staff have recently finalised agreements with external organisations to deliver youth and community led graffiti prevention projects in ten graffiti vandalism hot spot areas across Auckland.

21. The projects are at varying stages of delivery but will all be completed in the 2015/2016 financial year. The ten activation areas are in Rodney, Hibiscus and Bays, Kaipatiki, Henderson-Massey, Whau, Albert-Eden, Waitemata, Maungakiekie-Tamaki, Manurewa and Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board areas.

22. Graffiti vandalism incidents were down 13 per cent in the 2014/15 year compared to the 2013/2014.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

23. Community safety initiatives are delivered both locally and regionally, with local boards specifically involved in priority areas to deliver on local board plans.

Māori impact statement

24. The work of the safety team contributes to the Māori Responsiveness Framework in the aspirations of whanaungatanga, wairuatanga and manaakitanga. Specific aspects relevant to Māori have been considered and consulted on where relevant, to ensure the views of local Māori are incorporated into community safety work.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Author	Manu Pihama – Community Safety Manager
Authoriser	Graham Bodman - General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture

[1] Auckland Council Research and Monitoring Unit (2015)

Chairperson	Cr Dr Cathy Casey
Deputy Chairperson	Cr Sir John Walker, KNZM, CBE
Members	Cr Anae Arthur Anae
	Cr Linda Cooper, JP
	Cr Alf Filipaina
	Mr Kris MacDonald
	Cr Calum Penrose
	Ms Josie Smith
	Cr Wayne Walker
	Cr John Watson
	Cr George Wood, CNZM
Ex-officio	Mayor Len Brown, JP
	Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse
Ex-officio (without voting rights)	All other Councillors

No.	Title	Page
a View	Reports Pending Status Update - 5 August 2015	39

Author	Bernard Te Paa, Lead Officer Support, Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel
Authoriser	Graham Bodman - General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture

Author	Louis Dalzell - Democracy Advisor
Authoriser	Graham Bodman - General Manager - Community Development, Arts and Culture